Chinese bitcoin mining rig makers aim to raise billions in HK IPOs

HONG KONG (Reuters) - (Reuters) Three of the world’s largest bitcoin mining equipment makers plan to raise billions of dollars with initial public offerings in Hong Kong, even as other companies report plunging demand for the chips needed to make bitcoin.

Soaring cryptocurrency prices last year triggered a boom in demand for specialist mining chips and in developing “mines” - facilities with thousands of machines that create the coins by solving complex mathematical puzzles.

Yet the US chipmaker Nvidia Corp said this month that second-quarter sales to crypto miners totalled just US$18m, compared with US$100m expected by analysts.

That has raised concerns about the upcoming Hong Kong listings by three Chinese manufacturers of bitcoin mining equipment, Bitmain, Canaan Inc and Ebang International Holdings.

The companies all design high-end computer chips intended for mining cryptocurrencies, particularly bitcoin, and sell mining equipment containing the chips. In addition, Bitmain mines cryptocurrencies on its own account. Companies like Nvidia also sell specialty chips used for mining.

“The marked decline in the price of bitcoin since the start of the year is likely to weigh on investors’ interest in these companies,” said Benjamin Quinlan, chief executive of financial services consultancy Quinlan & Associates.

But, he added, “the fall in the price of bitcoin from its peaks has not been matched by an equivalent fall in the numbers of people mining it.”

Bitcoin is currently trading at US$6,699, down 64% from its December 2017 peak of US$18,690. Daily mining revenue was 77% lower than in December, according to Blockchain.info, a data analytics and wallet provider.

“As the bitcoin price decreases, so does the profitability of mining itself, which decreases demand for mining chips and miners,” said Wang Leilei, a consultant at financial services consultancy Kapronasia.

It is not just the price of bitcoin that is causing worries. People close to the IPOs said regulatory scrutiny and a patchy performance by Hong Kong offerings this year were additional concerns.

Julian Hosp, president of TenX, a Singapore-based blockchain firm, has also warned that if coins switch mining algorithms, then the machines designed to mine them would become useless.

“I would be quite wary of investing in these miners,” Hosp said, referring to the equipment makers. “They are not long-term businesses and I think they’ve had their uptrend for now.”

READYING IPO SALES PITCHES

Canaan and Ebang filed plans in May and June respectively for floats in Hong Kong, while Bitmain is expected to file its plans next month for an IPO in which it aims to raise at least US$3bn, sources close to the deal said.

Cryptocurrency trading is a global activity, but Chinese chipmakers have led the way in developing the most efficient means to mine the coins.

Bitmain had three quarters of the market for the specialist chips last year, followed by Canaan on 14%, according to estimates by analysts at Bernstein.

Ebang is aiming to raise up to US$1bn, according to sources, while Canaan is targeting at least US$400m - down from a figure of up to US$2bn touted earlier this year by people involved in the deal.

Two sources familiar with Canaan’s situation said the company had not yet fixed a date for a committee appearance, as it worked on clearing up questions from HKEX officials regarding due diligence done on its prospectus.

A source close to Bitmain’S IPO said the company was aware about the potential for close regulatory scrutiny.

That includes broader development of blockchain applications - the ledger system that underpins bitcoin and which is being widely explored by the financial industry - as well as artificial intelligence tools and the forthcoming build-out of 5G telecoms networks both within and outside China.

“The mainland government encourages chip design and production, as that is a segment of China’s market that has been suffering,” said Kapronasia’s Wang.

“Bitmain and Canaan chips could also be used for non-bitcoin applications, like blockchain in general, big data, cybersecurity or AI, which is an advantage for the companies.”